Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 26 October 1851. The Radical Left remained the largest group in the National Council, winning 78 of the 120 seats.[1]
The elections were held under the Federal law concerning the elections to the National Council, which had been passed on 21 December 1850. The 120 members of the National Council were elected in 49 single- and multi-member constituencies; there was one seat for every 20,000 citizens, with seats allocated to cantons in proportion to their population.[2] The 1850 law reduced the number of constituencies from 52, but increased the number of seats from 111; Aargau, Glarus, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Vaud and Zürich gained one seat each, whilst Bern gained three seats. The law also set the election date as the last Sunday in October and introduced a three-year term.
The elections were held using a three-round system; candidates had to receive a majority in the first or second round to be elected; if it went to a third round, only a plurality was required. Voters could cast as many votes as there were seats in their constituency.[2] In six cantons (Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Glarus, Nidwalden, Obwalden and Uri), National Council members were elected by the Landsgemeinde.
 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| Radical Left | 53.1 | 78 | –1 | ||
| Catholic Right | 15.5 | 16 | +6 | ||
| Liberal Centre | 13.6 | 16 | +5 | ||
| Evangelical Right | 13.5 | 7 | +2 | ||
| Democratic Left | 4.1 | 3 | –3 | ||
| Independents | 0.2 | 0 | New | ||
| Total | 120 | +9 | |||
| Total votes | 276,997 | – | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 517,020 | 53.58 | |||
| Source: BFS | |||||
| Constituency | Seats | Party | Seats won |
Elected members | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zürich 1 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 |
| |
| Zürich 2 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 |
| |
| Zürich 3 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 |
| |
| Zürich 4 | 3 | Radical Left | 2 |
| |
| Evangelical Right | 1 | Paul Carl Eduard Ziegler | |||
| Bern 5 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 |
| |
| Bern 6 | 4 | Evangelical Right | 3 |
| |
| Liberal Centre | 1 | Ulrich Ochsenbein | |||
| Bern 7 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 |
| |
| Bern 8 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 |
| |
| Bern 9 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 |
| |
| Bern 10 | 4 | Catholic Right | 3 |
| |
| Evangelical Right | 1 | Auguste Moschard | |||
| Lucerne 11 | 2 | Radical Left | 1 | Jakob Robert Steiger | |
| Liberal Centre | 1 | Jakob Kopp | |||
| Lucerne 12 | 2 | Catholic Right | 2 |
| |
| Lucerne 13 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 |
| |
| Uri 14 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Florian Lusser | |
| Schwyz 15 | 2 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Franz Karl Schuler | |
| Catholic Right | 1 | Johann Anton Steinegger | |||
| Obwalden 16 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Franz Wirz | |
| Nidwalden 17 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Franz Durrer | |
| Glarus 18 | 2 | Radical Left | 1 | Caspar Jenny | |
| Liberal Centre | 1 | Johannes Trümpy | |||
| Zug 19 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Silvan Schwerzmann | |
| Fribourg 20 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 |
| |
| Fribourg 21 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 |
| |
| Solothurn 22 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 |
| |
| Basel-Stadt 23 | 1 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Achilles Bischoff | |
| Basel-Landschaft 24 | 2 | Radical Left | 1 | Stephan Gutzwiller | |
| Democratic Left | 1 | Johannes Mesmer | |||
| Schaffhausen 25 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 |
| |
| Appenzell Ausserrhoden 26 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 |
| |
| Appenzell Innerhoden 27 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Johann Nepomuk Hautle | |
| St. Gallen 28 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 |
| |
| St. Gallen 29 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 |
| |
| St. Gallen 30 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 |
| |
| St. Gallen 31 | 2 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Johann Georg Anderegg | |
| Radical Left | 1 | Johann Matthias Hungerbühler | |||
| Grisons 32 | 1 | Evangelical Right | 1 | Johann Baptista Bavier | |
| Grisons 33 | 1 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Andreas Rudolf von Planta | |
| Grisons 34 | 1 | Radical Left | 1 | Georg Michel | |
| Grisons 35 | 1 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Johann Bartholome Arpagaus | |
| Aargau 36 | 3 | Radical Left | 2 |
| |
| Liberal Centre | 1 | Adolf Fischer | |||
| Aargau 37 | 4 | Radical Left | 3 |
| |
| Liberal Centre | 1 | Friedrich Schmid | |||
| Aargau 38 | 3 | Catholic Right | 3 |
| |
| Thurgau 39 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 |
| |
| Ticino 40 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 |
| |
| Ticino 41 | 3 | Radical Left | 2 |
| |
| Liberal Centre | 1 | Rocco Bonzanigo | |||
| Vaud 42 | 4 | Liberal Centre | 2 |
| |
| Radical Left | 2 |
| |||
| Vaud 43 | 3 | Radical Left | 2 |
| |
| Liberal Centre | 1 | Emmanuel-D. Bourgeois | |||
| Vaud 44 | 3 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Charles Bontems | |
| Radical Left | 1 | Vincent Kehrwand | |||
| Democratic Left | 1 | François Thury | |||
| Valais 45 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Alexis Allet | |
| Valais 46 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Antoine de Riedmatten | |
| Valais 47 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 |
| |
| Neuchâtel 48 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 |
| |
| Geneva 49 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 |
| |
| Source: Gruner[3] | |||||
| Party | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radical Left | 17 | –13 | |
| Liberal Centre | 14 | +6 | |
| Catholic Right | 10 | +4 | |
| Evangelical Right | 2 | +2 | |
| Democratic Left | 0 | 0 | |
| Independents | 1 | New | |
| Total | 44 | 0 | |
| Source: The Federal Assembly | |||
